North Sea Port CO2 capture hub to cut Belgian emissions by 15%

A partnership comprising of Fluxys, ArcelorMittal and North Sea Port has begun a feasibility study for the Ghent Carbon Hub project in Belgium, an open-access CO2 storage and liquefaction hub in the Ghent part of North Sea Port.

Besides carbon-neutral energy, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is increasingly considered to be essential for CO2-intensive industries to achieve net-zero emissions, especially in hard-to-abate sectors with processes inherently generating CO2 emissions, such as shipping. 

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The three partners are pushing ahead to develop a key infrastructure which accommodates the CCUS chain.

Ghent Carbon Hub is already set up as an open-access hub to transport and liquefy CO2 from emitters, provide buffer storage and load the liquefied CO2 onto ships for onward permanent storage. The feasibility study is already underway and commissioning is targeted for completion by 2027.

When complete Ghent Carbon Hub will be able to process 6 million tonnes of CO2 per annum (MTPA), equivalent to around 15% of Belgian industrial CO2 emissions. 

The project will benefit from Fluxys’ long experience in terminalling activities, while Fluxys is also developing an open-access CO2 transmission backbone in Belgium. Ghent Carbon Hub connects into Fluxys’ CO2 backbone, allowing CO2 emitters from the North Sea Port area and other industrial clusters to transport their captured CO2 to the hub or locations of reuse. 

Pascal De Buck, CEO of Fluxys said: "Together with our partners, we offer strong and complementary know-how and expertise for providing reliable and efficient decarbonisation solutions, essential for achieving climate change objectives and ensuring the long-term viability of the economy. Ghent Carbon Hub is an integral part of the full-scale Fluxys CO2 approach, offering emitters in North Sea Port and the wider area the opportunity to convey their captured CO2 through our backbone."

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Daan Schalck, CEO of North Sea Port added: "North Sea Port has the ambition to halve CO2 emissions by 2030 and to be a carbon-neutral port by 2050. Total CO2 emissions in the port are 21.5 million tonnes.

"As a first step, the capture and storage of CO2 will have to be increased. Technological developments will be key to the reuse of CO2 over time. The capture and storage of CO2 is a necessary intermediate step towards its large-scale reuse. To this end, North Sea Port is fully engaged to facilitate this CO2 infrastructure project to make it happen."

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